


From Nothing

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Uhhh tags sux, YouTube, alternate universe - youtuber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 02:26:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16420616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: Tweek loved to play the piano. He loved making his own music, and loved working on covers. Little did he know this would lead to something much bigger.(Creek week day 5: hands and YouTuber)





	From Nothing

It started as a hobby, something Tweek could show just a couple of people and leave it at that. He loved playing the piano; he mostly wrote his own songs, but sometimes he did covers. His username wasn't catchy either - TweeksPiano wasn't especially fancy, because he didn't care. When he found himself with half a million subscribers, he screamed at his laptop. How did that happen? He hadn't done anything special.

This was way too much pressure. He couldn't be what these people wanted: he was just an anxious young man who played the piano. What did they want from him? Talent? They had come to the wrong channel for that. He wanted to rip his hair out.

The comments section made him smile, however. There were people calling him their favourite YouTuber, and that his songs made their day. His channel was calm and stress free, because the last thing Tweek needed was more stress.

There was no reason to be nervous, Tweek realised. Nothing had changed, he still played the piano for his fans like he wasn't suddenly popular. He was happy and he kept to himself, and he pretended that he was still playing for just his family.

The illusion of being unpopular was shattered when he received an email from Token Black, another popular YouTuber. Tweek had no idea how to react. He felt like a fraud: he wasn't nearly as talented as Token thought he was.

Token wanted him to fly out to his place in California - a two hour flight from his shitty town in Colorado - to collaborate on a song together. He had never been on a plane, and he had barely left his hometown before. He should have said no and left it at that, but honestly? It kind of sounded like fun.

And that was how Tweek ended up in California.

It was much warmer than home. Tweek wished he had worn shorts, but he didn't have the legs for shorts. No one needed to see his pale chicken legs, not when he already had his scrawny arms on show. He grabbed his luggage and made his way to arrivals. Token caught his eye immediately with a sign: his YouTube name in bright colours.

Tweek approached Token, and he lowered his sign, smiling. He offered his hand for Tweek to shake: his handshake was firm. He was also a little cute, but his attention was diverted to the man with him. Token nudged the strange man.

“This is Craig. No one else wanted to come with me,” Token said.

“Hey,” Tweek said quietly.

Craig stared at him, but didn't say anything. He turned away, and Tweek was confused. He didn't expect him to be enthusiastic, but even a hey would have been better than ignoring him. Token sighed, before gesturing for Tweek to follow. He almost didn't want to.

They got into Token's car and drove - Craig sat in the front, and Tweek sat in the back. This was torture. He played with the fabric of his jeans, giving him something to focus on. All he could think about, however, was Craig. He was cute but rude - a terrible combination.

They arrived at Token's, which was a large home shared between four guys. The other two had successful YouTube careers - Clyde was a let's player and a streamer, while Jimmy specialised in comedic sketches. Craig, on the other hand, was just some guy the other three were friends with. He worked a normal job and led a normal life.

Clyde, Jimmy and Token were talking about something, but Tweek wasn’t listening. He kept looking over at Craig, who seemed more interested in a spider web in a difficult corner of the room than anything else. Maybe he just didn’t like Tweek, which was understandable. He wasn’t loud and fun like Clyde, or funny like Jimmy.

Tweek was just Tweek. He played the piano. He baked. He was homely and boring - until his anxiety spiked, anyway. Oh God, he hoped he could stay calm for the whole trip. There was no way he could let anyone know the anxious mess Tweek really was.

Tweek would be staying in their spare bedroom for a week. He wanted to stay in it and never come out, but Token, Clyde and Jimmy encouraged him to stick around for lunch.

“So, is Tweek your real name or a YouTube thing?” Clyde asked.

“Real,” he mumbled.

He wished his name wasn't real, but his parents sucked. He picked the crusts off his sandwich - he didn't care about crusts, but it gave him something to focus on. He wasn't even hungry.

“It's great to meet you, man,” Clyde said, before biting into his food. “I bet Craig's happy right now.”

“Dude, food,” Token said with a sigh.

“Yeah, Craig b- b- b- begged Token to invite you over. He's a g- g- gi-- he's a g- g- gig- huge fan,” Jimmy laughed.

Tweek dropped the piece of crust he was picking at. Since when was Craig a fan?

“He ignored me. He didn't even say hi,” Tweek said with a frown.

Clyde snorted. “He's scared. He doesn't wanna give a bad impression, but I guess it's too late for that. He's a mess.”

Tweek tore off a piece of sandwich and popped it into his mouth. Maybe they weren't lying, or maybe they were. Either way, he was stuck in California until the end of the week with no way out. He took a deep breath: it was too early to start panicking, but he was doing it anyway.

If there was one thing Tweek was glad about, it was the music room. He had seen it before in one of Token's vlogs, and he always envied the amount of instruments he had. A piano sat in the middle of the room, which was convenient for Tweek. He sat down at the piano and put his sheet music on the stand: it was his own creation.

As he started playing, he felt at home. Tweek relaxed, losing himself in the music - until he realised he had used a wrong note. Dammit. He grabbed the sheet, scribbling out and changing notes. Stupid piano, stupid composing, stupid Tweek.

“How can you understand this? It's a mess.”

The sudden speech made Tweek scream. He threw the pen, which hit the wall hard. He looked over, and Craig was frowning at him. Wait, Craig was talking to him now? Why?

“I-- oh. Hey.” Tweek grabbed his shirt, his hand shaking. Don't be nervous. Just because Craig was hot and scary… That wasn't helpful. “It doesn't matter how it looks. Not right now. I can fix it later.”

Craig was too quiet, though Tweek was starting to understand this was normal for Craig. Tweek's leg bounced. He wanted Craig to go - Tweek didn't play in front of others. It wasn't his house, however. He couldn't kick the host from his own home. Craig cleared his throat.

“A new song?” Craig asked, and Tweek nodded. “For fun? Or is it for YouTube?”

“YouTube is for fun. I don't do it for the money,” Tweek mumbled.

“Oh.” Craig scratched his arm. “Well, uh, keep it up.”

He turned on his heel, and right as he put his hand on the door, Tweek turned around.

“W-- wait. Is it true? Are you really a fan?”

Craig rubbed the back of his neck, and his face turned pink. “Yeah. You're really good. You look really peaceful when you're playing, and your hands are, uh…”

Tweek looked at his hands. He couldn't understand - he knew he had long fingers from playing. Craig couldn't quite look at Tweek anymore. He opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head.

“I'll-- okay, yeah, see you around,” Craig said.

Just like that, he was gone. What a strange guy. Tweek waited for a moment before he resumed playing.

***

They were supposed to start work the next day. Tweek was still tired, so Token left him to rest for a little while longer. Clyde, however, had other plans. He found Tweek and dragged him to his room, which confused him until he was sat down and given a controller. Tweek didn't even play video games, but Clyde wanted an impromptu collaboration.

Tweek pressed buttons like his life depended on it. Was this live? He hoped not, because this was humiliating. The keys of a piano were nothing compared to the hell that was video games. He looked over at one of the screens and saw a Twitch chat. Fuck.

“So how're you liking it here?” Clyde asked.

“Fine.”

“Not much for talking, huh? Guess that's why you don't sing.” He laughed. “You still being ignored?”

Tweek shook his head, though he wasn't exactly truthful. Craig wasn't ignoring him, not exactly. He kept looking at Tweek like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Tweek wished he would just say it what was on his mind already.

“I've mentioned this before, guys, but my roommate is a huge fan of Tweek over here. Like, he's obsessed.”

Tweek glanced at Clyde. “Token?”

“No man, I told you. Craig listens to you constantly. He goes on and on about you, saying he bets you have the voice of an angel, or--”

Craig opened the door. His face was red - Tweek didn't know if he was angry or embarrassed. Perhaps both. Clyde was laughing, and Tweek wanted to run. Maybe he could jump out of the window.

“Knock it off already,” Craig hissed.

“There he is, man of the hour himself! Why don't you tell the audience about how excited you were during the whole trip to the airport?”

Craig looked like he was trying to murder Clyde with his eyes. If Tweek wasn't there, he was near certain Craig would have tried to kill him. He glanced at the chat - it was full of F’s for Clyde.

“Just fucking stop it.”

Craig slammed the door shut, and Tweek looked back at the screen. People started making fun of Craig, and Tweek hoped this wouldn't become a meme. He wanted no part of this meme or drama. Tweek put down the controller and rushed off to find Craig.

He was in the living room by himself, watching TV. His cheeks were still red, and Tweek was certain it was now solely out of anger. He sat next to Craig, but he didn't say anything. Tweek felt like he should say something, but he didn't know what. At least he wasn't angry at Tweek, not yet.

“... thank you. I-- I appreciate all my fans. And you're sweet. I'm sorry about that.”

“Did Clyde send you.”

Craig was so nasally and void of emotion. Was he normally like that? Perhaps Craig didn't want to seem angry at him. Tweek shook his head.

“No. I mean it. Maybe I can play for you? I could…” Tweek shook his head. What was he saying? “If-- if it helps.”

Craig fiddled with the knees of his jeans. “I wanna listen to you again.”

Tweek smiled and stood. For a cute fan like Craig, he could swallow his anxiety.

**Author's Note:**

> I need to stop including Clyde so heavily but... listen. He's really good at moving plots along. And I love Clyde! :D Can you tell I'm terrified of writing Jimmy and Token yet lmao
> 
> Come bug me on [Tumblr!](http://vehicroids.tumblr.com/)


End file.
